Gilbert Melendez
“Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal” brings in 460,000 viewers
This past weekend’s Showtime broadcast of “Strikeforce: Melendez vs. Masvidal” drew 460,000 viewers.
MMAjunkie.com confirmed the numbers today.
The December 17 event numbers were hardly the best of the year, falling 300,000 behind the viewer total for “Strikeforce: Fedor vs. Silva.” Still, they were significantly higher than the very disappointing 274,000 viewers “Strikeforce: Barnett vs. Kharitonov” drew in September.
Taking place at the Valley View Casino Center in San Diego, California, the event featured a lightweight title fight between champion Gilbert Melendez and top contender Jorge Masvidal. Melendez once again proved himself to be one of the world’s top lightweights, easily taking home the unanimous decision win.
Also on the card, top female fighter Cristiane “Cyborg” Santos needed just 16 seconds to decimate Hiroko Yamanaka in her long-overdue return to the promotion. In the other two main card bouts, former light heavyweight champion Gegard Mousasi and former welterweight top contender K.J. Noons picked up much-needed victories, sending each man back on a title run.